Page Eight (Blu-ray)

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All Rise...

Judge Daryl Loomis wears transparent clothes because he wants people to know what he's about.

Editor's Note

Our review of Page Eight, published
November 16th, 2011, is also available.

The Charge

These are volatile times.

Opening Statement

If you're looking for a high energy, James Bond style spy antics, the world
of Masterpiece Contemporary is probably not where you want to look. There are no
crazy supervillains or exotic locales in Page Eight, a new thriller from
the Masterpiece Contemporary collection, but there are some fantastic
performances from a stellar cast and a tight story. It's dry, British espionage
that is a completely satisfying experience completely worthy of the Masterpiece
moniker.

Facts of the Case

Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy, Shaun of
the Dead)is an intelligence analyst for the MI-5 division of the British
secret service, an aging bureaucrat who has worked under his best friend,
Benedict (Michael Gambon, The Book of
Eli), for decades. When a source reveals some highly sensitive, politically
destructive information to Benedict, he shares it with Johnny, but dies suddenly
soon after. Now, with this on his head, Johnny must deal with the issue himself,
but his instinct to question everything he sees reveals even larger layers of
cover-up that threatens the entire secret service.

The Evidence

Page Eight is much more John Le Carré than Ian Fleming, but that
doesn't make the story any less entertaining; it just comes from the plotting
instead of the action. This is the kind of spy story without gunplay or
explosions. It focuses on the characters and their interrelations, the politics
of working for MI-5, and the severity of the allegations to give the plot its
weight. In all of this, the film is very successful.

Johnny likes working with his friend on something he finds important, but
he's old and weary, tired of the game and the shambles it has made of his
personal life. After five failed marriages and a daughter he still conflicts
with, he just wants some peace. Instead of that, he gets this top secret file.
While the contents are too significant to ignore, he doesn't want the
responsibility; he already carries enough secrets. This is made doubly bad with
Benedict's demise. Not only does he have to grieve his oldest friend, he also
now has the sole duty to report the allegations, putting him in hotter water
than he wants to handle. On top of this, he has to handle the oncoming advances
of his pretty young neighbor (Rachel Weisz, The Fountain), who Johnny thinks might
have an agenda connected to the file that he holds.

Together, this makes for a brisk and entertaining ride through the offices
of the secret service. It's not as far reaching as many spy films out there, but
its mundane scenario is considerably more believable than any of those. Writer
and director David Hare (Strapless and the screenwriter for The Hours) does a solid job orchestrating the
action and story, which focuses on the modern issues that the secret service
will have to contend with. There's no seething maniac plotting to take over the
world, but a smarmy Prime Minister and sellout bureaucrats who want to get in
the way of the truth. This is a tale of truth in government and that
government's efforts to advert the transparency they claim is
important…until it gets them in trouble, at which point a lack of
transparency becomes a matter of national security and, as such, an
unquestionable issue.

The direction doesn't feature a lot of flair, but the performances are
phenomenal. Nighy gives Worricker life just in how tired he looks. He's
especially great in his moments of action, where the character clearly doesn't
want to be. Nighy is perfect at showing both the character's reluctance to act
and his determination to do the right thing. He's an analyst and feels more of
an obligation to his dead friend than to his government or the advancement of
his position. He is completely effective and makes the character very real. That
doesn't discount the rest of the cast, which is excellent in every respect.
Weisz is irresistibly mysterious and Gambon is basically a perfect boss. Beyond
them, though, we have some great work from Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardener), Judy Davis (Naked Lunch), and Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), together making a
terrific ensemble that works together really well. When such a great cast mixes
with a smart and fun plot, you can't really go wrong.

Page Eight comes to us from PBS, labeled as the Original UK Edition.
I take this means the film is uncut, which would make sense given the brief
moments of adult language would almost certainly have been cut in the American
broadcast. The image is good, but not superior. The 1080i transfer looks fine
for what it is, but there isn't the level of detail I've become used to on
Blu-ray. It's clean, though, with solid colors and fairly deep blacks, so I
can't complain too much, but it isn't as good as it could be. The stereo mix
performs similarly. Everything is crisp and clear, but the dialog-heavy track
doesn't have much separation and the score by Paul Englishby (An Education) is very much on the soft
side. There are no extras on the disc, which brings it down an extra notch.

Closing Statement

It's a little harder to fully recommend a purchase of Page Eight
without a tip-top Blu-ray release, but the story and especially the performances
make up for almost all of it. David Hare has discussed the possibility of
bringing the Johnny Worricker character back for two more television dramas, and
I really hope he does. People who enjoy a nice dry spy formula should do
themselves a favor and pick up this disc, at least as a rental.